Psalm 51 records the confession of David when the storm of guilt from his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah broke upon him. Psalm 51 is, in fact, descriptive of the human condition, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.… Surely I was sinful at birth” (vv. 3, 5). It may be possible to maintain confidence in one’s virtue if one limits or controls the field of comparison. It is common, for instance, in comparative studies of various kinds, to compare the strengths of one system to the weaknesses of another system in order to vindicate the superiority of the former. Jews did this in Paul’s day when they compared Jewish morality with Gentile immorality, as we have seen in the Wisdom of Solomon 12–15. A modern approach would be comparing “the American way of life” …